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One of the Earliest, Collectible,
Discovery-Era World Maps
World.
FRIES, L./ WALDSEEMULLER, M. [Lyons, 1535]
Tabu. Nova. Orbis. .
12 x 18 inches.
Superb hand color, excellent condition.
A beautiful example, with rich lapis coloring, of Fries's more decorative version of Waldseemuller's 1513 "Admiral's Map." "One of the earliest world maps available to a collector, [which] is an unsophisticated but attractive rendering of what was generally known of the world at that time" (Shirley). The Fries edition added notations and visual elements not found on the Waldseemuller. Included are portraits of five kings: Russia, Egypt, Ethiopia (Prestyr John), Sri Lanka, and Mursuli. Prestyr John was a mythic Christian king, whose realm was at various times thought to have existed in northeastern Asia but more commonly in northeast Africa. One theory suggests that this mythic king was the product of European dread of conquest by Islam; Prestyr John embodied the hope that an ally to Christian Europe existed to help counter the Islamic threat near its base. Also, in the upper left-hand corner of the map is a surprisingly realistic elephant, which is unusual for the period. The added notations relate to the elephant, the Russian king at top, and Sri Lanka (“Taprobana”).
Shirley 49. |
